Day 31
East Timor
The economies of the Pacific Island region have been more severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than any other region of the world. Projections for the next 5 years are also the bleakest for this region. Some of this is tourism-related, and economies are being adversely affected by the current global inflation crisis. East Timor is at least benefiting from the higher prices it can sell for its oil and gas. Pray for wisdom to manage economic growth in the coming years. Pray that churches will lead the way in developing microenterprises, helping local communities to become more self-sufficient and to be good stewards of the resources they do have (The Bible, Deuteronomy 8:18).
Source: The Pacific: emerging from COVID, slowly (DevPolicy)
The country, also known as Timor-Leste, had a bloody 24-year resistance against Indonesian occupiers, gaining independence officially in 2002. In stark contrast to this turbulent past, East Timor peacefully transferred power to a younger generation of leaders in the 2017 presidential elections. However, the nation has failed to form a secure, strong government since the 2018 parliamentary elections. The membership of the governing coalition changed again in 2020. Half of the country, with a population of only 1.3 million people, still lives in extreme poverty. High levels of youth unemployment fuel gang violence. With around 95% of its population being Roman Catholic, it is one of only two predominantly Christian nations in Southeast Asia. Churches face no persecution.
Day 31
The Gambia
Gambia Police begin probe into deaths of children linked to India-made cough syrups.
President Adama Barrow’s office said that the foreign ministry had been asked to communicate the government’s most profound concern to the Indian embassy. Authorities have linked 66 deaths, most of them due to acute kidney failure, to four medicines – Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup – manufactured by the drug maker. Authorities have called senior officials from the country’s Medicine Control Agency and the importers of the products for questioning. Pray for the families who lost their loving children and are unable to bear the loss. Pray that the government will take immediate measures to save the lives of innocent children (The Bible, Psalm 72:4).
Source:
The Gambia is a West African country surrounded by Senegal. It’s the smallest country on the mainland of Africa with a population of just over 2 million, of which up to a tenth live abroad for work. Adama Barrow is the president of The Gambia. Despite the presence of the Gambia River, which runs through the middle of the country, only one-sixth of the land is arable. The Gambia is traditionally very tolerant of all religious creeds and beliefs and while the country is predominantly Muslim, with up to 90% of the population practicing the basic tenets of Islam, it is essentially a secular country and it prides itself on its broad-minded acceptance of all faiths. Christians, mostly Protestants, make up 5% of the population.
Day 31
Gaza Strip
In the blockaded and densely populated Gaza Strip, a battle for space is pitting the living against the dead as homeless squatters settle in the area’s cemeteries while authorities grapple with the growing demand for new housing. The pressure on space in the cemetery reflects the growing pressure on land in Gaza, which has faced a mounting demographic crisis for years. Its population is set to more than double within the next 30 years to 4.8 million and land is already running out. The growing population needs 14,000 new housing units a year, according to Deputy Housing Minister Naji Sarhan. Pray for the growing population in Gaza Stripe will find places to live. Pray the Gazans cry out to God and call on the name of the Lord for survival and
relief from crisis (The Bible, Job 11:13).
Source:
The Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle East, bordered by Egypt to the southwest and Israel to the north and east. On 14 June 2021, Hamas announced that Issam al-Da’alis was the new prime minister of the Hamas government in Gaza. The Gaza Strip residents are severely constrained by political rights and civil liberties. Blockades of the territory and periodic military incursions by Israel have imposed serious hardship on the civilian population. The Islamist political and militant group Hamas gained control of Gaza following its victory in the legislative elections. Israel launched a month-long air campaign against sites in Gaza in early August 2021. Israeli authorities tightened restrictions on the flow of materials, including fuel and construction materials, into Gaza. The violence of extremism is rampant and has become a dangerous part of everyday life for Palestinian Christians.
Day 31
West Bank
Following a series of terror attacks, Israel’s policing army launched Operation Breaking the Wave, in the course of which it raided Palestinian cities to arrest and kill terror suspects. According to UN reports, from the operation’s inception 74 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank. Like the current pattern, the army’s first response was offensive: raids in areas where the attacks originated. But the commander of the Judea and Samaria Regional Brigade, declared it a failure so palpable, that they decided to halt this offensive action within a few days. The army realized that its methods are unsuited to deal with unorganized attacks, deduced that Palestinian casualties from the clashes are the main fuel for their continued intensification. Pray that Palestinians abstain from violent activities and break ties with terrorist groups. Pray for the people to be thankful to God for new relationship with Him and find peace(The Bible, 1 John 1:1).
Source:
Mahmoud Abbas is the president and Mohammad Shtayyeh is the Prime Minister of the West bank. The West Bank lies on the west bank of the Jordan River. Since 1967 most of the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with mainland Israel. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline along the western bank of the Dead Sea. The Palestinian population of around ten or eleven million people is divided between historic Palestine and a diaspora, mainly in neighboring Arab countries. Efforts to create a Palestinian state on the West Bank of the River Jordan and Gaza on the Mediterranean coast have been frustrated by the continuing conflict with Israel and disputes over the status of diaspora Palestinians. Islamic oppression is the main source of persecution. Islamic extremist militants cause Christians to fear being attacked, and the persecution is particularly brutal for converts to Christianity.
